


Guided By Sickness

by CaffeineAddict94



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Dark, Depression, Drabble, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 08:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18362006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeineAddict94/pseuds/CaffeineAddict94
Summary: Rather than run from pain, Sal chose to welcome its warm embrace.A drabble about a rainy day.





	Guided By Sickness

**Guided By Sickness**

Rather than run from pain, Sal chose to welcome its warm embrace.

He’d known the kind of white-hot, searing agony that sent fireworks shooting through his brain and he’d lived in the cold darkness of it for what felt like an eternity. He’d been too young to understand then what he knew now: pain was only the beginning.

He peered out from the bedroom window of his apartment, watching heavy rainfall drown the grass below. The bad weather had persisted for the better half of the week and it didn’t show any signs of stopping. He knew the first days of Spring always brought rain but he could do without the pressing humidity that made him sweat the minute he stepped outside. He’d been holing himself up in his room, refusing to venture too far from his familiar comforts. He told himself that it had nothing to do with the overwhelming despair that had settled over him like a blanket as he padded his way into the living room.

The low drone of the TV was the only sound in the tiny space as he had the apartment to himself. He normally didn’t bother with the news, it was all so morbid and his life was crazy enough without thinking about the rest of the evil in the world, but he needed the background noise. No matter how normal things had been lately, he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Addison Apartments was his home but being there only reminded him of death and decay. There was so much blackened rot hiding within the walls, bleeding beneath the floorboards. Demons lurked in the pipes and the earth was soaked with the blood of the innocent. He knew because he’d seen it all. He’d gotten himself so entrenched in the mystery, drawn in by the allure of the paranormal, that the danger was lost. He could’ve died, along with everyone he loved. Was all the searching really worth it? Had they really made a difference? Or were they only prolonging the inevitable?

A loud knock startled him and he had to take a moment to collect himself. He already knew who would be waiting out in the hall before he yanked the door open. Sure enough, Larry was standing there, dark eyes peering out from a sleepyface that was silhouetted by shaggy brown hair. For a moment, Sal forgot all about the dread knotting his stomach. Larry was the first friend he’d made in Nockfell…his first real friend _ever_ , if he was being honest, and the two of them had become inseparable. He sometimes wondered if they would've gotten to know each other so well if not for the first murder. That was just another question mark to add to the fucking mystery of Addison.

“Hey”, he waved him inside, “Bored?”

Larry let out a groan before he flopped back on the couch, the worn sofa creaking in protest, “This whole place is dead. It’s like nobody’s here”. 

“Thanks”, he muttered before he sat down, ignoring his long legs splayed out behind him. 

“You know what I mean. It’s kinda weird, actually. When has this place ever been this quiet?”

“Uh…”

He stalled, struggling to remember a time where there wasn’t something going on. Even if it wasn’t ghosts and goblins, there was always someone blasting music or the halls were filled with scattered bits of conversation. The walls were thin so, even if you didn’t make the effort, you got to know your neighbors almost intimately well. He craned his head towards the hall, straining to hear any sign of movement from Robert next door. Nothing.

“I knew you felt it too”, Larry eyed him closely, “Something’s not right”. 

“We don’t know that. It’s Spring break. People are probably on vacation”.

It was only a year ago that he’d graduated from high school. He remembered how eager he was to make the most of his short week, hardly spending any time at home unless he was hanging out at Larry's or Todd's. He wanted to believe that was all this was, just a few residents taken up by seasonal wanderlust. If he put too much thought into anything else, he’d feel worse than he already did.

“All of them? Man, I don’t think I even heard David today and you know he never goes anywhere”.

David was a strange man, nice but strange. He knew it wasn’t his place to pass judgment, especially after all the insanity he’d been through over the years. Appearances could be deceiving; he knew that better than anyone.

“Do you think something’s happened to them?”

Larry shrugged lamely, clearly at a loss, “I don’t know. Guess I could be overreacting”.

 _Maybe it’s not them. Maybe it’s us,_ he thought darkly as he absently scratched at a scar near his chin. The two of them had seen things they were never supposed to see, discovered truths that had been hidden for centuries. This could be their punishment for daring to go against the natural order, for dismantling a system that had penetrated this building for seemingly longer than time itself. If anyone was going to be cursed to a life of eternal damnation, it was them.

“You okay, Sally?”

There was that incessant ringing again, the same he’d had the night after a Sanity’s Fall concert but ten times worse. It was like there were millions of flies inside of his skull, buzzing so loudly that he could barely hear himself think. He dropped his head in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut tight, hoping sheer force of will would be enough to end the noise. They hadn’t stopped anything at all, had they? This was part of the plan too and they were too ignorant to understand that. Ancient beings were governing their very existence, pulling the strings and watching them dance like puppets while they laughed and laughed. This was the edge of the universe, a chasm of intense suffering that no mere human could ever comprehend. The blackness would consume them all someday, become a part of them. It would worm its way through their insides, attach to their veins like poisonous cables…

“SAL!”

He felt hands over his own, gentle yet firm, and he whimpered pitifully as his fingers were pried away from his face. He didn’t realize he was crying until Larry brushed the wetness from his cheek with his thumb, the concern written on his brow enough to bring a fresh bout of tears.

“It’s all my fault”, he choked, unable to shake the overwhelming guilt, “Everyone’s gone because of me”.

“Hey, no! That’s not true”, Larry’s tone was stern, unwavering, “You moving here was the best thing to happen to this place in a long time. Think about how happy you make everyone…how happy you make me. You’ve done nothing wrong”.

He held back another sob, hating how easy it was for him to fall apart these days. He didn’t have a tough resolve, no matter how much he’d been through. He was all heart and he tried to bring light into people’s lives...but still, the darkness persisted. Yes, pain was only the beginning. The start of a descent into madness. 

“Look at me”, Larry lightly cupped his chin, forcing him to meet his gaze, “Whatever is going on, we’re in this together. You know that, don’t you?”

He stared into eyes that mirrored his own, full of passion and understanding and maybe a bit of fear. Even when things looked bleak, when he couldn’t make sense of what was real and what wasn’t, when the thoughts in his head were so loud and insistent...he had him. Through everything, Larry was at his side, refusing to let him fall. He still wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky, how someone like Larry could look at him – _really_ look at him – and refuse to turn away. The terror was still there, brimming below the surface but, right now, he didn’t have to fight it alone.

He let his eyes fall shut again as Larry leaned into him. He savored the taste of smoke on his tongue and the worn feel of his t-shirt as he tried to hold onto this feeling. It wasn’t quite happiness but it was a warm relief, the comfort of having someone who knew him inside and out. A kiss couldn’t stop the end of the world but at least he wouldn’t have to go it alone. That, he decided, had to be enough.


End file.
